As I saw (and remembered) it – Saturday 6th December

By Kevin Molen

Great to see 8 boats hit the race course this week. With Helen out of town she handed the keys of Athena to Kristie. She was supported by Neil and first time Etcheller Kristan down from the Sunny Coast. With NGHAM’s bow man Jake absent Angie joined Brad and Scottie. Another first time Etcheller Katherine joined The Saint who were back on the water after their recent dismasting.

The forecast was for a 11 kt northerly building to 15 with a big outgoing tide. As we poked our heads out the harbour we saw it was already a steady 15.

Race 1 saw the fleet fighting for the boat end before all heading off towards the left hand corner. Off the line, NGHAM had issues with their jib halyard popping out of the cleat and as they were rolled they soon tacked off to the right. As the fleet go closer to the port layline they all gradually tacked off on to starboard. At the top those that went farthest left rounded first. This was Waterloo Too who has several lengths on Knot Easy. On their transom was The Saint with Rapscallion right behind. A length further back was NGHAM followed by Athena, Aspen and The Project.

On the run an early gybe by NGHAM saw them pick up a good bit of pressure while Rapscallion soaked though both Knot Easy and The Saint. Knot Easy didn’t help their cause with a wine glass in their kite. At the bottom Waterloo Too had a handy 3-4 length lead from NGHAM and Rapscallion who rounded alternate marks simultaneously with The Saint 4^th. At this point Knot Easy withdrew as Jim had come down with something and wasn’t doing well. This worked out well for the rest of us and it meant that post race chicken wings were on the go by the time we got back 😊. With the breeze up to 17kts by this stage, Athena with their makeshift crew had decided not to fly their kite.

On the beat W2 protected the left. Brad wasn’t going to give any leverage to Rapscallion, keeping a loose cover on them so by the top Patto had maintained his lead of 3-4 lengths from NGHAM. The Saint coming in from the right rounded 3^rd after forcing Rapscallion to duck them just before the mark. Aspen was having a good race and rounded in 5^th ahead of The Project.

On the final leg W2 maintained their lead to take the days first gun. By mid-run Rapscallion had soaked through The Saint again to close on NGHAM but after falling in to a softer spot Brad got away and the Rappers crossed the line in 3^rd just a second ahead of a fast finishing The Saint. Aspen was 5^th ahead of Athena and The Project.

The breeze eased off a touch for Race 2 and a right shift saw the top mark moved under Green Island before the start. The roaring out going tide saw both The Saint and The Project retuning after being over early. With the mark now in the right this opened up track a bit more with the fleet evenly split across the course. At the top NGHAM rounded just ahead of W2 and Rapscallion. 3-4 lengths back were The Saint closely followed by Aspen, Athena and The Project.

Unfortunately the run to the bottom was a single gybe run with no passing lanes other than sailing high and hoping you could get a pressure line to allow you to sail over the top.

At the bottom NGHAM maintained their 3-4 length lead with W2 and Rapscallion following them around. The Saint held of Athena and Aspen to be 4^th around.

The final beat didn’t present any opportunity for the chasing pack and NGHAM rounded the top for the final time 3 lengths ahead of W2. Rapscallion though having gone to the opposite corner from W2 rounded in 3^rd the same two lengths they were behind at the bottom.

With the run not presenting any tactical options it came down to pressure and waves. By mid-run Rapscallion were right on the transom of W2 but a good puff and some waves saw them escape these clutches and actually catch up to NGHAM. By the finish NGHAM crossed the line just 3 seconds ahead of W2 with Rapscallion 2 lengths further back. The Saint held off the chasing pack to finish ahead of Aspen by just a length. Athena crossed in 6^th ahead of The Project who after recovering from their early start were just a length further back.

Back on shore Chris and Jason had done a great job with the BBQ with the wings ready by the time the boats were packed away – thanks guys.

Boat of the day honours were shared by NGHAM and Waterloo Too though Patto is claiming it on best elapsed time over the two races.

Glad to see that the message re dry boats got through and everyone had plenty of libations on board this week.

(This author accepts no responsibilities for any inaccuracies, distortions of the truth or outright lies.)